


Perseverance

by GeekyRoleplayer



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Fluff, For a Friend, M/M, Made for a friend's birthday!, Pre-Dragon Age: Inquisition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:08:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27845774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeekyRoleplayer/pseuds/GeekyRoleplayer
Summary: Before the Inquisition,The Herald of Adraste's duty was to his clan.That includes giving life lessons to moody teenagers,And admitting he doesn't know his way around a bow and arrow.
Relationships: Male Lavellan (Dragon Age)/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	Perseverance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aceybabey](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aceybabey/gifts).



The sun was warm upon his back as he moved throughout the Dalish camp. He had worked up a sweat chasing around a gaggle of children for the past two hours, keeping them occupied while their parents scouted ahead to their next location or hunted for the evening's supper.

At some point they had ended up at the edge of a river and he was keeping a close eye on the youngest elves who splashed about within the puddles or who attempted to hunt frogs within the reeds. "You don't have to be so forceful, Dal'en." He tells one of them who had snatched one of the small creatures by the leg. He reaches out to take the frog, and situates it within the child's palms. "Be gentle and it will be kind. Animals have a sense for such things." 

"Sorry, Mahvir." The young one mutters, staring upon the small frog with a frown. He taps them on the nose to earn a laugh and a renewed smile before he moves on to check on the older children. They were swimming well past the shallow end of the water and he was silently counting off heads as they blundered about. ' _One, two, three, four...'_

"Ever the mother hen, aren't you Arasha?" 

His headcount is interrupted by a voice at his ear and he can not help the way a shiver runs up his spine despite the summer heat. "Did you come by just to tease me, Ry?" 

"Of course not!" The other man tuts, walking around him to give a show of his red hair and blue eyes. "I came to kiss you as well." He leans in and Mahvir welcomes it with a smile. 

They are greeted with a chorus of disgusted gags and giggles. 

"A tough crowd," Rylan remarks, turning to throw an arm over Mahvir's shoulder to pull him close. "You know, when you get to be our age, you'll be wishing for a kiss or two!" 

One of the children scoffs. "But you're so old!" 

Mahvir furrows a brow as Ryland let's out a rambunctious laugh. "I didn't realize that twenty-six was old." 

"Well, I saw a grey hair on you just this morning!" The red-headed elf muses, turning to brush a hand through his long chestnut hair. 

"You said you weren't here to tease, Vehnan." 

Ryland springs back and raises his hands in the air as a mock sign of innocence. "You love it, but you're right, I am here for a reason. Ellana." 

Mahvir perks up at the mention of the elf who he had practically taken under his wing from a young age. "Is she alright? Has her hunting party returned?'" 

"They have," his lover says with a small sigh, "but she seemed a bit discouraged. The bow is giving her trouble." 

"Well that is natural, it's only her second hunt." 

"Still. I know you haven't been feeling well, what with all the traveling we've had to do lately, but I was hoping you'd go and speak with her." 

"Only if you take over babysitting duty." 

Ryland turns his blue eyes upon the hoard of little elves who were still sloshing about in the water as if they'd never experienced anything quite so interesting before. "Kids love me, it shouldn't be a problem." 

Mahvir chuckles and leans forward to press a kiss against the other man's Vallaslin, the sprawling script of Falon'din in blue ink. "Will you be saying the same when we have one of our own?" 

"Of course! Consider this my practice. Now go on, I'll continue fretting over them for you, Arasha." 

Ryland shoos him away with a firm shove to his chest and he goes without further complaint.

°°°

Mahvir finds Ellana sitting at the edge of the camp, a large slab of stone as her seat. She was hugging her knees to her chest and her face was hidden against them.

He bends down to pick up her disregarded bow and quiver from the tall grass. "Long day?" 

She looks up to acknowledge him, her violet eyes brimming with frustrated tears. She is quick to blink them away and find her voice. "I'm better with my daggers." 

He steps forward to sit at the foot of her rock and he grimaces as his body aches with the movement. Thighs sore and calves tense from countless days of walking. "I'm rather lousy with a bow myself, but my sword isn't great for hunting." 

"Well that's why you're a guard. It's okay, I know you can't teach me everything." 

He leans his head back so that he may look at her and the sun meets his eyes with a harsh gleam. "I may not be able to teach you how to hone your archery skills, but perhaps I can show you a few things about patience and forgiving yourself." 

Ellana looks at him as if he had said something incredibly sappy, and he can't quite blame her. She was just fourteen and his words were undoubtedly reminiscent of something out of a cheap novel. 

"I'm serious." He says, pushing himself to his feet once more and indicating for her to follow. "Come on Da **'** Era'vun, bring that bow of yours." 

She does not seem at all thrilled to be dragged away from her thoughts of shame and remorse but she does as she's told. 

°°°

"How far are we going?" She finally asks once they leave camp and had trekked several miles through the forest that bordered both Nevarra and the Free Marches. It belonged to no man save for the occasional traveler or human hunter, so the Dalish passed through it often. 

"A walk will do us good." 

"Didn't the Keeper tell you to rest? Should you be walking this far?" 

Mahvir laughs and it is almost bitter. "You all can't treat me like glass, I know my limits, now be quiet from here on out." 

She seems upset to be ordered into silence but she does as she is told, slinging her bow over her shoulder to rest against the quiver. The grass does not stir as they trapeze through the undergrowth. They are as silent as the wind that barely breezes past. The trees rustle but they do not. 

Silent and all encompassesed by the wildlife around them. 

Eventually Mahvir comes to a stop. His pointed ears perked as he stares into a clump of tall grass and weeds that towered well over his head. Ellana found it odd that no animal had disturbed this place, as it would have served as good source of food for many herbivores. 

The older elf leans forward to part the grass with an expert ease. They hardly make a sound as he draws back and motions her forward. 

She slips into the space at his side and parts the grass just as he had done and she has to bite her tongue to keep from gasping in surprise.

There, within the walls of tall grass, lay a doe and her fawn. The young creature couldn't have been more than a few days old and it was curled up at it's mother's side. 

Mahvir whistles through the curtain of grass and it sounds just like a bird who had perched somewhere nearby. 

The fawn's head perks up at the sound and then, due to it's curious nature, it scrambled to it's hooves. The transition from the ground to standing was a rocky one as it stumbled and shook. Finally, it found it's balance, before wandering about to sniff amongst the twigs and weeds that made it's home. 

Eventually, it found them hidden within the grass and Ellana was astonished to find Mahvir reaching out to pet it without causing its watchful mother to stir and flee. 

She dares to speak but the deer do not seem to mind. "Do you come here often?" She wonders. 

"Whenever our clan is in the area, this place hasn't been purged by hunters yet. Ryland and I took a walk here a few days ago and found these two keeping nearby, they were rather friendly." 

"You probably smell like the Halla." Ellana quips. 

He smiles. "Yes, I suspect you're right." 

The fawn stretches it's neck to get a sniff at her. 

"Or perhaps you do." He says. 

She ignores him and lays a gentle touch upon the animal's snout. Elves always had a way with the wildlife, but she supposed that she should thank Andruil for that. The Goddess of the Hunt respected those who were to become her prey. 

"There was a lesson to be said in all of this," Mahvir says, watching as the fawn turns away from them to return to it's mother. "Did you see the way the fawn struggled to find it's footing?" 

"Yes?" 

"You have to be like that fawn, Ellana."

She raises an eyebrow at him. 

He sighs, "Even though it struggled at first, it had patience, and finally made it to where it wanted to be." 

"This comparison of yours is a bit of a stretch, you know know that, don't you?" 

"And just like the fawn, you have to be patient while you're honing your own skills. Eventually, you will get it, you just have to be willing to forgive yourself when you fail and have the perseverance to keep trying." 

Ellana frowns and spares a look over her shoulder at the weapon which had been causing her so much grief. "Be like the fawn, huh?" 

"Be like the fawn." 

The young elf sighs and withdrawals from her place within the grass. Mahvir follows a moment after, a hopeful gleam within his amber eyes. 

She can only sigh. "Would you help me practice?" 

"Despite being a lousy shot, I'll be the most encouraging instructor you've ever had, if not the best." 

"Yeah," she agrees as they make their way back in the direction they'd come from. "And maybe one day I'll be the one teaching you how to shoot this thing." 

"I'll treasure the day, Da **'** Era'vun."


End file.
